HavenGuarde

Chapter 3 - Found

Chapter 3

Found

- And he saw, within the rough, a sparkling gem -

At a mere twelve years of age, Thonavar Ironhand was a wise boy. And he was strong. For he had spent a good many years of his early life being hunted, chased and beaten by gangs of boys. Consequently, he developed a wonderful athleticism and tremendous agility and speed, which he harnessed to great effect in escaping from the gangs that attempted to make his life miserable. Unlike other boys his age, Thonavar could scale buildings with ease, run all day without pausing for breath, leap onto ledges and jump across bridges. But there were days where he was cornered and beaten by the boys at school; Alexis and his cruel gang, which had grown into almost ten boys.

There was one evening when he returned home with a blackened eye and blood running down his nose and lip. His shirt was also torn. He had told his parents a lie, not wishing to bring trouble upon them, instead reassuring them that it had been a bad fall from one of the roofbeams he liked to sit upon. But his parents had known better. Mirya was furious and was determined to march down to the college to lodge a complaint, but Jesse had stopped her

"He needs to fight his own battles Miri. I will not fight them for him and neither shall you. He is a young man now and we will not always be there to defend him", explained Jesse grimly. However, Mirya was defiant and fiercely protective of her son and this subject often resulted in many a quarrel between husband and wife.

As he lay in bed, listening to his parents arguing, Thonavar often thought about his mother's words. He had to break his family out from poverty. He would become rich and buy his parents a bigger house. Father would not have to work again. Mother would not need to worry about food. There would be plentiful and they would be happy. They would be free.

One day, Thonavar decided to climb atop the roof of the tallest building in the street sector, just above the market place. It was day of the Jubilee. A Havenguardean holiday. To celebrate the day the Unity first completed the construction of HavenGuarde's high outer walls, sealing its parameter, shutting its citizens within and closing its gates to the outside world. Despite its significance, it was still a holiday where all labour came to a standstill. And so, throughout City Below, there was a sense of peace and rest. Families were out enjoying the day before the work week commenced again. He had left while both of his parents slept deeply, exhausted from their labours of the past week. The market was busy today. The streets below teemed with people buying food and items. But Thonavar's thoughts did not dwell on them but on the massive structures in the distance above. Father built some of them, he thought proudly. Some of the buildings above seemed to stretch into the eternity of distance and he could barely see the end. There were even some that seemed to go on forever, almost reaching the sky.

But that cannot be, thought Thonavar, as he lounged back, with one hand behind him. Surely those great buildings above are not so tall enough to penetrate the curtain? Perhaps the sky was just beyond the curtain above.

One day, he and his parents would be in City Above, and perhaps he would get a chance to see the sky up close.

With thoughts and dreams of happiness blooming rapidly in his mind, Thonavar did not notice the gang creeping up on him from behind. They had seen him climb atop the roof of the marketplace and had followed him cautiously. On another day, Thonavar would have had the sense to know that he was being followed. It was like a sixth sense that something did not feel right. However, he was distracted and had let his guard down.

A sudden movement from behind him! Thonavar's eyes lit up in a flash. He half-turned only to dodge a blistering attack aimed for his head. He rose to his feet swiftly, spun around, and saw, to his dismay, that he was hopelessly outnumbered. A powerful punch cracked against his jaw, leaving him half-stunned. He had his back against a wall and was completely surrounded. With no escape route or plan, Thonavar decided that he had no choice but to fight.